(The Center Square) – Enrollment opened this week for Colorado’s taxpayer-funded preschool program for the 2025-2026 school year.
The program is part of a recent initiative to provide universal preschool in the state. This will be the third year that students are enrolled in the program.
Universal preschool was pushed by Democrats in the state, with Gov. Jared Polis also strongly advocating for it. It currently offers up to 15 hours of preschool for all children in the year before kindergarten, with additional hours available for qualifying families.
In a Tuesday statement, Polis declared the program a success.
“Colorado’s Universal Preschool Program is truly raising the bar for early childhood education – for children, parents, and our economy,” Polis said. “Colorado’s Universal Preschool Program not only saves Colorado families money, it drives our state’s economy and earliest learners forward to thrive for years to come.”
While the state was hoping for increased enrollment in the 2024-2025 school year to 72.7% of all eligible four-year-olds, the number of students enrolled actually dropped from its first year.
Currently, 41,640 four-year-olds are enrolled in the program, or about 65% of the number of children who qualify. In the 2023-2024 school year, 43,479 students were enrolled.
“Colorado’s Universal Preschool Program shows what’s possible when we prioritize young learners,” said Dr. Lisa Roy, executive director of Colorado’s Department of Early Childhood. “High-quality preschool opportunities strengthen families and drive our communities forward.”
The program comes with a hefty price tag of $322 million.
Starting in the 2023-2024 fiscal year, the General Assembly was required to appropriate money to the Department of Early Childhood to fund Colorado’s universal preschool program.
“Beginning in the 2024-25 state fiscal year, and each year thereafter, the amount appropriated must increase annually by the rate of inflation,” according to legislation approved in April 2023.
While voters approved a Proposition EE in 2020 to increase taxes on cigarettes and nicotine to fund the program, in the 2023-2024 fiscal year only $163 million came from those tax increases. Another $30 million came from the general fund, while $139 was transferred from another program.
The program has had some backlash in this past year, facing multiple legal challenges.
Six school districts sued over how the program was rolled out. That lawsuit was thrown out. Two Catholic schools also sued the state for discrimination, after the state would not allow them to participate in the program.
